Angola

Thesis

“In this website, we will be analyzing the role external factors have played in prolonging instability in Angola. The Portuguese made first contact with the Kingdom of the Kongo while attempting to find an alternate passage to the West Indies in 1483. Since Angola’s inception, it has been used by external powers for its abundant resources. For the first 400 years of Angola’s colonial existence, its primary export was a part of itself: slaves for work in Brazilian mines. During the late 1800s, the Portuguese exploitation of Angola diversified its extraction targets to rubber, diamonds and eventually oil. With Angolan independence from Portuguese rule in 1975, came Angolan dependence on foreign powers in fighting a protracted 27-year civil war. Moreover, in the post-civil war reconstruction period, Angola now relies heavily on foreign investments to sustain its economy”

Link to Website

http://olaniewunnet.wix.com/angolanrevolution

Summary

Although Portugal has colonized Angola to exploit its silver mines, by 1605 they had discovered that these mines did not exist. The Portuguese then saw the opportunity to enslave Angolans and make them work on the sugar plantations and gold mines in Brazil. In fact, Angola later became the center of African slave trade; 40% of all African slaves were originally from the country.

Portugal originally only controlled the land surrounding Angola’s ports; however, in 1880, the Berlin Conference distributed the entire territory to the Portuguese. By 1915, the colonizers had replaced the previous economy of the Ovimbundu with a diamond-based one.

One consequence of the colonization of Angola was the shift in gender roles. Angolan women originally had quite a bit of authority in society, and held a great deal of power over men. However, once the Portuguese arrived in the country, Angolan women’s powers diminished rapidly; they were expected to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Where they had previous influence amongst their peers, they now had none.

In 1930, the Colonial Act was passed—limiting the Angolan market by only allowing them to trade with Portugal. Although slavery was technically illegal, this did not stop the Portuguese from using forced labor. They justified the colonization of the Angolan people by giving them the ‘opportunity’ to become “assimilados” and a Portuguese citizen. However, the reality was that only 0.7% of the population achieved this status; the rest were systematically oppressed.

Portugal passed a law in 1951 that stated that all of its colonies were given the status of provinces of the European power. This led to an influx of Portuguese citizens into Angola—and after petroleum was found in the region, this number only increased. In response to this, The Party of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola (PLUA) was formed, demanding the country’s independence. The Angolan Communist Party (PCA) was created in 1955. The two parties later merged to create the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) formed in 1962, led by Jonas Savimbi. Savimbi later left the FNLA to form the much more organized UNITA—a group that used guerilla warfare against the Portuguese.

The Angolan Revolution began in 1961 after Angolan agricultural workers demanded higher pay and better working conditions. Though this boycott began peacefully, it turned violent after they started to burn their identification cards and attacked Portuguese traders. Meanwhile, 50 Angolans attacked a police station in Luanda. In retaliation, the Portuguese government responded by bombing villages near the site of the initial rebellions. This tit-for-tat violence continued until the United Nations Security Council forced Portugal to stop its attacks. Although the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA had all revolted against Portuguese control, a coup inside Portugal itself was the reason Angola gained its independence.

In 1974, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal overthrew the fascist government that had previously been in place. Once a more liberal government was established, Portugal began the process of decolonizing Angola, as the revolution there had proved too costly to be sustainable. Angola officially gained independence in November 11, 1975. However, this created a power struggle amongst the FNLA, UNITA, and MPLA who all wanted control of the country.

The FNLA was the first group to go, leaving Cuba-supported MLPA the main opposition to Jonas Savimbi-led UNITA. UNITA turned to guerilla tactics, using the diamonds from Northern Angola to fund the group. After an election where UNITA’s Savimbi lost against MPLA leader, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, Savimbi cried foul and declared war.

By 1994, the MLPA controlled 60% of the country.  Although Savimbi attempted to create peace in the region, UNITA used diamonds to purchase weapons from the international market; the civil war only ended in 2002 when Savimbi was killed in combat.

Today, much of the instability in Angola is a result of foreign aid that has created a cycle of debt in the region. The country has currently accumulated $9.3 billion in debt.